Should I Signal?

Signal Light SwitchPaul from CompetentDrivingBC often shares his insights here on DriveSmartBC. I like his explanation of whether to signal or not and decided to share it with you. It's great advice that we should all practice all the time.

Surprisingly often, when teaching new drivers, I've been asked 'Do I have to signal this?'.

Fraudulent Compliance Markings

LED HeadlightI am thinking about upgrading the sealed beams on a vintage car to LED headlights. The LED headlights I'm considering are marked "DOT SAE" on the front. Does that mean that they are legal on roadways in B.C.? The gentleman that posed this question also supplied a web site URL with more information that promised DOT approval and explained that these lights were used by international Baja racing teams. Sounds good, doesn't it?

CASE LAW - R v McEachern

BC Courts Coat of ArmsMira McEachern was a novice driver on September 17, 2016 when she was issued a traffic ticket for using an electronic device while driving. She was convicted of that offence (records do not indicate if it was because she paid the fine or was not successful in a traffic court dispute). Shortly after the conviction RoadSafetyBC notified her of a pending prohibition of 3 months due only to that conviction.

Ignoring Your Own Safety

SeatbeltWhen I learned to drive more than 4 decades ago, seatbelts were becoming standard equipment on all vehicles. Fast forward to today and we have seatbelts, multiple airbags and a host of automatic systems designed to either avoid a crash or minimize the damage to us if we are in one. Why then do some of us ignore the systems that are there for our protection?

Emergency Vehicles and the Traffic Rules

image of flashing lights on emergency vehiclesIn my travels this week I was overtaken by a marked police vehicle travelling at 110 km/h in the posted 90 km/h zone. No emergency equipment was being operated. Instances like this are often complained about by the public as they see the police failing to follow the same traffic rules that they force everyone else to obey.

CASE LAW - R v Parmar

BC Courts Coat of ArmsTejveer Parmar was ticketed for speeding on Kittson Parkway in Delta. He testified at trial that another driver had continually pulled in front of his vehicle and braked. He decided that the only opportunity available to him was to exceed the posted speed limit and pass this vehicle in order merge safely into traffic. The traffic court justice convicted him for traveling 81 km/h in the 50 km/h zone.